Trouble In Paradise
by finding
Summary: The auditorium hovered noisily between full blast and pre-party activity, but Riku walked the other way. Kamiya x Riku/for The Night Owl Is Addicted/Happy 18th birthday, Gelly!


Yo! This is completely dedicated to **The Night Owl Is Addicted**, also known as the beloved Gelly(-chan, -love, -dear, -mummy etc) for her awesome eighteenth birthday! Happy birthday, Gelly! ;w;

You can see Kamiya Taiga x Kaitani Riku, if you squint hard enough. Also, I suggest you skim through Gelly's story titles before you read this! :D Now _go_!

* * *

It was graduation night.

For Taiga, that was, and Riku had promised to attend. The auditorium hovered noisily between full blast and pre-party activity; catchy, upbeat melody oozed out of the cracks in its giant mahogany double doors.

Riku ran a hand down the side of his tuxedo, tugged at his tie, and then proceeded to stare rather dejectedly at the tickets he clutched in his right fist. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, after all, especially so for Taiga. But Riku could scarcely tell a spatula from a frying pan; he was that clueless. So he'd opted for the easy way out.

Jagged bolts of good-natured laughter seemed to be inviting him to whatever lay beyond the doors. Riku hesitated, then got to his feet, brushing non-existent dirt off his suit. He couldn't do this. Not with how things turned out, not with him now... He didn't want to make a fool of himself.

He walked the other way.

-

Taiga entered the auditorium. 'L'amour de la Mere' splashed boldly across the screen, centerstage populated by a mess of balloons and half-connected microphones.

_Mother's Love_. He was about to leave his alma mater behind, and despite his usual, rather apathetic attitude toward school, Taiga knew he would miss this place. Tonight, he wanted to be able to take in every tile, every crack in the wall, the smell of the cafeteria and that tap, that tap that was always leaking.

"...I dreamed that I was late for my own graduation night! Can you believe it?" A friend piped up.

"No wonder you were extra early today." Another smirked, albeit not unfriendly. "I just dreamt that I did a jump off a flight of stairs 'cause someone told me I'd grow taller. Sure hurt like crap!" Taiga's laugh tinged with hoarse amusement as he tuned in to his classmates' idle chatter.

"Heh, what boring dreams! _I_ dreamt of a virus that spread through the whole world, like in 'em movies! _And there were rats_." He grinned, satisfaction lighting up his eyes at his friends' comical bombardments as to why he would've conceived a dream like this. "Because it's the year of the rat, obviously!"

Not that Taiga enjoyed making things up, but no way on Earth was he telling them that he'd dreamt of cheerleading uniforms... and Riku. In the aforementioned costumes, no less.

...Speaking of Riku, where was that boy? Didn't he promise to come? Taiga thought about it for a moment, before shrugging it off. It wasn't like Riku to forget something as important as his graduation night. He'd be here.

Then again, Taiga couldn't exactly claim to know Riku by heart. There were moments when his smug smile struck Taiga as odd, or unfathomable; the air around Riku boasted of his very own confidence and enigma - at least to Taiga. He wanted to hold the keys to the boy's heart, to figure him out completely, catch every detail by his fingertips. Sometimes, just teasing him to the ends of his ears and showering him with kisses were enough, because Riku was _Riku_, and Taiga wouldn't have him any other way.

Maybe that was why he loved Riku so much.

He could just picture them, now. On the field, under the amethyst blanket of stars; a naughty, careless whisper, the midnight breeze sifting through his fingers and Riku's tousled hair... he nearly burst into fits of laughter at the cheesiness - blame the silly slow melody in the background -, but Riku made it all better and worthwhile.

Riku just needed to show up.

-

Monotonous speeches and the glaring absence of a person made it a very painful ten minutes. Taiga scowled at his victim, the poor principal gesturing animatedly about his 'journey with this batch of excellent pupils'. Where was that guy?

Twenty minutes, twenty-five, and not a single trace of silver. Still, he made up excuses - that perhaps the bus was late, perhaps Riku had his daily dose of parrot problems - parrots made a mess, didn't they? Ridiculous, he knew, but Taiga wasn't one to feel insecure. Riku would come. He had to.

At thirty minutes, Taiga called. It went straight to voice-mail, and he dialed a few more times. Clipped woman's voice. No Riku.

Five more minutes to the first dance, but he didn't really mind the sacrifice.

His chair scraped noisily against the marble floor as he shot up and left the auditorium.

-

He didn't do anything wrong. Riku had rung him at ten - as always, and they kissed goodnight over the phone, as always. Their flirty morning message, one last call before the tuxedo tryouts, and -- then it hit him.

Taiga didn't notice, but he was running now, one finger still on the 'Answer' button in case, just in case Riku returned his call. Fervently, breathlessly, he was catching up - or trying to, to the Riku he hadn't really known, hadn't really bothered to know because Riku had known _him_ from the inside out, and that was all that had mattered. He had held the missing keys of locked doors, he had Riku all to himself; he just needed to place it in the lock, but he didn't.

What if something had happened to Riku, what if something had happened before he could completely -

"Riku!" Taiga's triumphant shout rang through the vacant front hall. "I found you!"

As Riku's huddled figure slowly unfolded itself, Taiga's expression morphed from joy to impatience to concern to anger until it settled, his face strangely distorted and his heart confused.

Without a second thought, he threw his arms around the suddenly tiny-looking boy. "So good to see you here, kitten! C'mon, give ol' Taiga a hug~ I'll even forgive you for being late!" His warm smile fell cold as Riku stiffened in his arms. "What's wrong, puppy? I didn't do anything to upset you, did I?"

Riku remained silent, muttering something like "...cday". Taiga shook his head, realizing that he comprehended nothing.

Gently, Taiga urged Riku's clenched fist open, and there the rumpled tickets lay - tickets to a jazz performance at his favorite uptown restaurant, specially booked for tonight. He knew that he would only have himself to blame if Riku never forgave him again.

"I'm so sorry, baby. Been neglecting ya, haven't I? Always made ya do everything... Kitten, I won't blame you. Just tell me what went wrong, and I'll try ta change, 'kay?" His voice was soft, remorseful.

Riku finally met his eyes. His face was scrunched up, his eyes shining with unspoken hurt. Taiga watched Riku with every fiber of his being this time, determined to take him in like he'd memorised his school that evening. Riku must hate him now. His gaze was cold, his mouth taking too long to conjure up a response, as if it pained him to do so.

"Taiga... I've got an ulcer."

**Omake**

On the school field, under the light of a single star and a waned moon, a not-so careless whisper, and Taiga's fingers were neatly entangled in Riku's hair as a breeze picked up, taking a plastic bag with it, waltzing. A cacophony of peace, the fading notes of a piano and the cicadas, eager to embrace the night.

Taiga longed to just reach out, and touch those cheeks, kiss those eyes. Perfect backdrop for a perfect kiss. He leaned over, and -

"OWWW! Kamiya Taiga, that was my ULCER!"

* * *

By the way, an ulcer is a growth in your mouth that can hurt like crap. 8D


End file.
